Treat of the week

If you are ever wondering how to add some fibre to, or to up the food value of, a cake or biscuit, look no further than the humble blender. Bran, as well as various cereals such as oats and millet, can be pulsed to a powder in seconds, and make a healthy addition to many a baking mix. The blender will do a far better job than the food processor.

75g good quality rolled oats

150g unsalted butter

175g icing sugar

175g plain flour

50g custard powder

2 tsp vanilla essence

2 tbsp milk

150g good dark chocolate, cut into ½cm nuggets

For the icing

125g icing sugar

3-4 tsp milk

In a blender, grind the oats to a powder. Beat the butter and icing sugar until light and creamy, add the flour, custard powder, ground oats, vanilla, milk and chocolate chips, and mix to a soft dough. Roll into a log about 40cm long by 5cm thick. Wrap in baking parchment and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/ gas mark 4. Line a baking sheet with non-stick parchment, unwrap the dough and cut into 1-1½cm discs - if it crumbles a little, just press back into shape. Place the discs on the parchment, spaced 2-3 cm apart and bake for 20-25 minutes, until risen and golden but still a little soft. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Sandwich together with a simple icing made by beating the icing sugar and milk until smooth.